


Blessing in Disguise

by konstay0629



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Chatfic Elements, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Han Jisung | Han is Whipped, I dont know how to tag, Lee Minho | Lee Know is Whipped, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, because why not, like fluffy soft and sweet, minho and jisung are engineering students, oh and did I mention this is fluff, stream double knot y'all, there's minor changlix if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-16 02:14:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21028583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/konstay0629/pseuds/konstay0629
Summary: Sometimes, some of the worst things that happen in our lives turn out to be blessings in disguise, and that’s exactly how Jisung met Minho.----Or registering to his classes is like Jisung's personal hell at uni. But thank god Minho was there to save him just when he needed help the most. ♡





	Blessing in Disguise

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the first ever fanfic I finished! I didn't proofread this, so please forgive any mistakes with the grammar. This has time skips too. 
> 
> I was listening to When You Love Someone and Cover by Day6 while writing this. I recommend listening to them while reading this so you get the feel of this fic ♡
> 
> update: i have edited this fic to remove all mentions of woojin

“WHAT THE FUUUUUUCK!” Jisung’s yell rang out the entire apartment as he smashed his laptop’s mouse on the study table out of frustration. He stayed up until midnight to wait for the university’s enrollment system to open, so that he could grab slots for the classes he needs to take the second term of the school year, before they run out. But he wasn’t fast enough – the shitty servers have crashed already.

Enrollment period is always a stressful event for students under the College of Engineering and Information Technology at Levanter University. Only four sections are opened per subject, each limited to about 40 students. The slots for these classes are almost always not enough and they run out fast, with both the repeating students who failed last term and the first-time takers trying to get in. Slot taking for the classes are done online, and it opens exactly at 12 in the midnight, which is stupid because the university’s servers always crash from all the traffic they’re getting. The school admins should’ve known that thousands of students would try to access the system all at once at exactly 12 AM, sacrificing a few precious hours of sleep in hopes of getting the classes they want.

It was ironic, really, that they have a shitty online enrollment system despite their school being one of the most prestigious technological institutes in Korea. The classes here are great, but he feels like the stress and anxiety you’ll get from trying to get into them can slash a good 10 years off your life.

If you’re lucky enough, you’ll be one of the few who’ll actually be able to log into the system, choose the class and schedule you prefer, and enroll into them without any fuss. If you’re only just a bit lucky, you’ll be able to get into the classes you need, but the schedules would be so far apart that you’d have an 8-hour break in between, where you’ll either bore yourself to death or blow all your allowance money while you pass the time.

But if all the odds are against your favor, just like how they seem to be with Jisung right now, you’ll go home (or rather go to sleep) empty-handed, unable to enroll to any class and dreading the next days you’ll be spending in front of your Department’s office trying to convince and practically beg your professors to open another class just so you won’t fall behind on your curriculum.

Jisung is almost in tears. As the minutes ticked by, he watched the number of available slots in the classes he needed dwindle. He tried logging into the site again, only to be redirected to a page that says the servers are down. “God _fucking_ damn it!” He yells at his laptop again, as if that would solve any of his problems.

Chan, one of the two boys he was sharing the flat with, pokes his head into Jisung’s room. “Jisung, try to keep it down, will you?” He said groggily, “you’ll wake up Chanbin and the entire building at this rate.” Chan didn’t have to worry about his classes, since he’s taking up Arts and Design, and the enrollment system for their course is a lot more efficient.

“Hyung, I can’t log in to my student account! I haven’t enrolled a single fucking class!” Jisung whines, his eyes glassy from tears of frustration. He’s becoming desperate now. He opens up his SNS and starts chatting every single person he had added in there from their department, even though he doesn’t really know some of them personally. He messages Jeongin and Seungmin first, who are both sophomores like him. They're sapparently done enrolling, the lucky dipshits.

They volunteered to help Jisung enroll, so he gave them the list of classes he needed and his student account details. Unfortunately, both boys were no longer able to log into the system, too. “This is seriously the worst day ever.” Jisung lets his head to fall to his hands, and presses his palms to his eyes to keep himself from crying.

“Don’t give up just yet. Try asking for help from the other students.” Chan rubbed Jisung’s back in an attempt to comfort him.

Jisung scrolls through his list of friends, and sends them a message again to ask for help, no longer caring if they think of him as shameless. No one replied, though. They’re either busy trying to get into the classes too or they’re simply ignoring him.

“No one’s replying!” He heaves a deep sigh, already resigned to his fate.

“Wait. Who’s that?” Jisung looks at the screen of his laptop, to the chatbox that Chan is pointing to. “Lee Minho? Is he your friend?”

Jisung’s eyebrows shoots up in surprise. He hadn’t expected anyone to take him seriously, much less someone who’s basically a stranger to him despite being in the same department. He hurriedly types out a reply to the guy.

-

**04/25/2019 12:30 AM | Lee Minho & Han Jisung**

Lee Minho: Hey. Do you still need help with taking slots?

Han Jisung: omg yes!! Pls help

Han Jisung: i’ll do anything for you if you help me

Han Jisung: just plsss, I’m desperate T_T

Lee Minho: That’s a risky deal you’re getting into lol

Lee Minho: Give me your student details, I’ll try

Han Jisung: ok hold up

Han Jisung: student #: 032518 paswrd: hansumvirg0914

Lee Minho: What the fuck kind of password is that lmao

Han Jisung: stop judging me (;﹏;)

Lee Minho: Alright, whatever. Send me the classes you need and the schedules.

Lee Minho: I got into your account

Han Jisung: OMFG finally!!!

Han Jisung: here are my classes, idc about the schedule, I just need to get into them

Han Jisung: Electronics Circuits 2, Energy Conversion, Differential Equations, Philosophy and History

Lee Minho: Got it, wait.

-

Jisung waited for what felt like an eternity as Minho fixed his schedule. His heart was pounding fast because of the stress and anxiety. He looks at the clock in his laptop. Five minutes have passed, but there’s still no update from the other boy. He’s getting restless and is about to type another message when he saw three dots on their chatbox, indicating that Minho is typing something.

**04/25/2019 12:38 AM | Lee Minho & Han Jisung**

Lee Minho: All done. I printed out the copy of your registration. Want me to give it to you or will you just line up in the registration office?

Han Jisung: OH MY GOD THANK YOU

Han Jisung: YOU’RE HEAVEN SENT, SERIOUSLY (.づ◡﹏◡)づ.

Han Jisung: i’ll be forever grateful, thank you so much for the help!!!

Han Jisung: and yess pls give me the copy, i don’t want to line up 3 hours just to get that from the office ugghh

Lee Minho: No worries. Where do we meet?

Han Jisung: let’s meet up tomorrow at Yellow Park, 10 AM near the pond? is that ok with you?

Lee Minho: Yeah sure

Han Jisung: umm.. yeah

Han Jisung: again, thank you! you don’t even know me but you still helped 

Han Jisung: you practically saved my life, thank you!!

Lee Minho: Lol you’re so dramatic

Lee Minho: I’m gonna go sleep now. See you tomorrow. :)

Han Jisung: oh, okay! i’ll just chat you tomorrow!

Han Jisung: Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bug’s bite! ｡^‿^｡

Lee Minho: What am I? A 5-year-old?

Han Jisung: what?? I think it’s cute!!

Lee Minho: It is. Good night, Jisung-ssi.

Jisung read Minho’s last chat with a fond smile on his face. Chan had long since left his room and returned to his own to go back to sleep after seeing that someone has finally taken care of the younger’s schedule.

Jisung smiles to himself as he thought about how helpful Minho was despite not knowing him and how comfortable it felt when they talked. But the smile quickly turned to a grimace when he remembered all the people he messaged that didn’t reply. He added those people during freshmen year, when he was a lot more childish and just wanted to have a large group of “friends” without even thinking who among them can be considered his real friends and who are not. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t even talked to most of those people in real life or even through SNS.

He realized he didn’t really need a lot of friends, as long as he had a few who genuinely cares for him. Looks like it’s time to trim down the list and finally focus on people that matter to him. _And maybe_, he thought, _maybe Minho became one of them tonight._

\----

Jisung stopped in the middle of Yellow Park to take in its beauty. He actually does this every single day, but he never gets tired of just how relaxing the park is. The 4-hectare park is situated in the middle of the campus grounds, like a little piece of wilderness surrounded by eight towering Jacobean buildings made of red-orange bricks. Every corner of the park has a breathtaking nature spot where students can unwind. The one near the building of Engineering and I.T. Department is a large manmade pond filled with colorful koi fish. It has an islet in the middle, with two cherry blossom trees currently in full bloom flanking a mahogany bench. The islet is connected to the rest of the park with a small wooden garden bridge.

All the buildings that surround the park look identical; the only way to tell them apart is the emblem of department they house. The North building is for all the Law, Business, Accounting, and Management courses. The Northeast is for Agriculture, Forestry, Geography, and Environmental Sciences. The East is for Arts, Design, and Architecture. The Southeast is for all medicine-related courses. The South is for students taking up Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Astronomy. The Southwest is where you’ll find majors in Linguistics, Communication, Philosophy, History and the like. On the West is their department, the Engineering and Information Technology. And on the Northwest are the Music, Dance, Drama, and Cinematics majors.

Levanter University may not have all the courses available in the world, but they do provide the best in what they offer. _Except maybe the enrollment system. _Jisung thinks to himself. It’s the only flaw in this university, seriously. Jisung was mulling this as he leaned on the bridge over the koi pond, staring at the colorful fish wading in the water.

He glances at his watch and sees that it’s just 9:50 AM. He deliberately went here earlier than his meet-up time with Minho because he didn’t want the other to be the one to wait, especially when it’s him who owes Minho a favor. He pulls out his phone from his pocket to tell Minho that he’s already waiting by the pond. On his way here, he realized that he didn’t really know what Minho looks like, what year he’s in or even what course he’s majoring in. He tried to look at the other boy’s SNS profile to get a better idea, only to be disappointed and bemused because Minho’s profile is basically empty and the only picture it had was that of an orange cat.

**\----**

**04/26/2019 9:50 AM | Lee Minho & Han Jisung**

Han Jisung: good morning!!

Han Jisung: i’m already here by the pond. I’m wearing a black cap and black hoodie.

Lee Minho: Omw, wearing black too

Jisung felt giddy at the thought of finally meeting Minho, the guy who saved him from a week’s worth of begging professors to accept him into their already-full classes. He watches the other students from his department flit about the park, some looking happy and without a care in the world, while others look absolutely harangued. He guesses those who looked stressed as hell were probably the ones who weren’t able to take any slots to any classes last night, having no one to help them, unlike him. Again, he thanks the heavens for letting him meet Minho.

Jisung was so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t notice someone walk up to him. He gave a slight jump when that someone poked him lightly on the arm. He turns to face the other person, already assuming that it’s Minho, only to be floored at the sight before him.

This person in front of him looks absolutely ethereal, like a model straight out of a magazine or maybe an angel that fluttered down like a butterfly from the sky. He’s wearing a black long-sleeved sweater that was tucked fashionably loose in front into tight-fitting black pants with ripped seams at the knees. The boy’s cat-like eyes are framed by long, thick lashes. He has a beauty mark on the left side of his nose and his red lips looks so plump. His dark brown hair that looks almost black glinted in the sunlight, as did his loop earrings. Jisung belatedly realized at the back of his mind that if he was able to take in all these details, then he’s probably gawking at the other for far too long.

“Y-you can’t be Minho-ssi.” Jisung manages to stutter out, his cheeks coloring with a light blush as he realizes how ridiculous he sounded. He watches as Minho tilt his head at him, with a slight amused smile.

“I can’t?” Minho laughs at him, a lilting sound that sounded like a cross between a laugh and a giggle. It kind of reminded him of chiming bells, and he absolutely did not expect for the other to have some sort of a melodic voice. Everything about Minho is so entrancing; Jisung couldn’t help but just stand there and stare at him wide-eyed with his lips slightly parted. A few seconds must’ve passed, as Minho finally poked his cheeks with his index finger to drag him back out of his reverie.

“O-oh! I’m so sorry. It’s just that… umm, never mind.” Jisung shakes his head vigorously to straighten his thoughts. “You _are_ Minho-ssi, right?” He asks as he held out his hand.

“Yeah, and you’re Hansumvirgo I guess?” Minho giggles at the other boy whose cheeks have now turned bright red at the mention of his weird password. He noted Jisung’s loose top and cap worn backwards, making him look even more boyish. His features reminds him of a squirrel, with button eyes and puffy cheeks that are just as squishy as they look. Minho knows, he’s confirmed it earlier when he poked his face. Jisung give him a big smile, his lips transforming into a round heart shape, as he grasps his outstretched hand into his own and gives it a slight shake. He couldn’t help but warm up instantly to the boy. “You can just call me Hyung, by the way.”

Jisung’s eyes widens at that. He didn’t really know why he didn’t expect Minho to be older than him, but now that he thought about it, the other boy does look more mature than he does. “Oh, okay… Hyung.” He hadn’t let go of Minho’s hand yet, so he shook it again vigorously as he said, “I just want to thank you, again, for helping me out.”

“Don’t mention it. I’ve been in your shoes too. I know how frustrating it is to not be able to enroll.” Minho smiles at him fondly, the corner of his eyes crinkling as they turn into crescents. He finally pulled his hand out of Jisung’s grip, albeit hesitantly, as he fishes in his bag for the younger’s registration and handed it over to him.

“Thanks! Have you paid for yours?” Minho shakes his head at Jisung’s question. Students need to line up at the accounting office to pay their tuition, but the line is long as fuck right now so he decided to pay later in the afternoon. “Hyung! We can line up together if you want?” Jisung asks excitedly, “It’s good to have someone to talk to while waiting, so we don’t get bored to death.”

“Sure! But I was planning to pay later, after lunch.” Honestly, Minho’s already thinking of excuses about how it wouldn’t be that bad to line up for hours this morning if it’s with Jisung. He internally shakes his head at the thought. What is it with this cute boy that made him feel so comfortable? He wasn’t usually this approachable.

“That’s great! I was planning to pay after lunch too!” Jisung brightens up even more, if that’s even possible. “Have you eaten? Do you wanna go grab brunch?” Minho raises his eyebrow at Jisung’s guts to ask that they eat together. The younger is apparently a thousand times friendlier than he is.

_Wait no, it’s not as if it’s a date, he just wants to eat._ Minho curses himself internally before nodding to Jisung.

Even Jisung is surprised at himself. He didn’t know where he got the courage to invite Minho for brunch, but he’s just thankful that the elder didn’t turn him down. They cross the cobblestone walkway in the middle of Yellow Park, having decided to eat at the south building where there’s a café that offers delicious but affordable drinks and food. They pass by a small daffodil field along the way, their bright yellow petals in full bloom this spring. It’s the nature spot in this side of the park, and as usual, Jisung stopped walking for a while to take in the pretty sight.

“I take it you’re a nature lover?” Jisung jumps at Minho’s soft voice, having momentarily forgotten that he’s with the older boy. “I saw you gazing earlier at the cherry blossoms, and now you’re doing it again with the daffodils.”

“Oh? Well… I guess? I don’t know… I guess, I just love it more during spring, when everything is teeming with life.” He answers with a small smile. “The vibrant flowers in bloom, the smell of fresh cut grass, the insects scattered about, and the earthy smell of soil from light spring showers — I guess all of those just makes me feel a little happier and livelier than usual.” He smiles at Minho, becoming a little self-conscious as he realizes that the other may find him too melodramatic for something as simple as a season. To his surprise, Minho just gave him a big grin.

“I get what you’re saying, but I’m not much of a spring person myself. I think it suits you, though, seeing that you look like a squirrel.” Minho chuckles. A cool breeze blew past them, causing a few strands of Jisung’s blonde hair to flutter down his squirrel-like cheeks. Before Minho could stop himself, he reaches out and tucked the strands behind the younger’s ears.

“You’re not a spring person? What are you then?” Jisung manages to ask, despite the loud hammering of his heart and the blush creeping into his cheeks from Minho’s sudden touch.

“Hmm… I think I’m more of an autumn person.” Minho’s lips turns up to a small smirk as he thinks about his answers. Jisung notes how the elder always makes a tiny “hmm” sound when thinking, how he seems to blink a lot more than the usual and how every blink seems to last a few milliseconds longer than normal. He thinks it’s adorable, these little quirks of Minho.

“I love how the tree leaves change in color during autumn, how they cover the ground in pretty orange foliage, how the temperature is neither cold nor hot, but just cool enough and comfortable. It’s also like a reminder that sometimes something good needs to end to make way for something even better – prettier – even though that may come only after a bit of hardship.” Minho finishes explaining with an abashed smile, realizing how unnecessarily serious he was. Jisung gives him a bright smile in return, making his breath hitch.

Jisung didn’t expect Minho to understand him, much less share the same deep thoughts for the seasons, something that a lot of people simply live through and take for granted. Their conversation is not the usual small talk that people have to get to know another person, but he’s loves how it’s giving him a better look into Minho’s thoughts. “So… what you’re saying is, the winter is hardship?” He teases the older boy.

“I mean, is it not?” Minho answers with a giggle. “It makes everything wet, the roads are slippery, it makes my nose runny, you lose feelings in your ears because of the cold, your skin becomes more dry _and _you have so much more laundry from wearing a hundred layers of clothing per day.”

“Wow hyung, it’s like you read my mind.” Jisung laughs loudly, his mouth forming a wider round heart shape than the one it did earlier, to Minho’s amusement. “Those are the exact reasons why I don’t like winter. Honestly, the only thing that winter had going for it is Christmas and then New Year.”

“Right???” Minho agrees with laughter of his own, the pealing sound sending warmth throughout Jisung’s chest. Before they knew it, they’re in front of the south building and walking along its hallways toward the quaint café, whose walls were adorned with fairy lights and Polaroid pictures of customers that have visited the place, along with a big sign that says “Knot Café.” Jisung and Minho walk towards the counter and greeted the barista, then looked at the menu board to figure out their orders.

“I’ll have a tall iced Americano and a slice of lemon coconut torte.” Minho tells the barista, pulling his wallet out of his bag. “What about you, Jisung?”

Jisung is having a hard time deciding what to get. The glass display by the counter sported a dozen cakes, all of which looked absolutely delectable. “I’ll get a cup of hot cocoa and a slice of that brownie chocolate heaven.” He decided, pointing at a moist cake with chocolate ganache and bits of brownies on top.

Minho raises his eyebrows at him, as if questioning his chocolatey choices, but he just gave the elder a sheepish smile.

“That will be all for 12 dollars” The barista told them with a smile.

“Oh no, we’ll pay-“ Jisung was about to say they’ll pay separately before Minho placed a hand on his arm and cut him off.

“It’s on me today.”

“What? No, hyung! You’ve already done so much for me!” Jisung’s pouted, his cheeks reddening from embarrassment. He’s the one who invited Minho for brunch, so if anyone had to pay for the both of them, it should be him, especially since he had already asked a favor from the other last night. But now he’s the one getting things for free. He could only sigh as the barista swiped Minho’s card on the register and told them to relax at one of the tables as she prepares their food.

The café is bustling today, which is to be expected since it’s the enrollment season. Most of the tables were occupied, so Jisung and Minho didn’t really have much choice when they sat at a 2-seater table in the middle of the café.

“I forgot to ask earlier, but what are you majoring in?” Jisung starts his small talk, wanting to avoid any awkward silence between the two of them.

“I’m taking up Electrical Engineering.” Minho answers, “I’m in my junior year, but I have a few subjects from sophomore year that I need to take ‘cause I was too lazy to finish them last year.” Minho sighs as he remembers the two insignificant classes that would take up a few precious hours of his days this term – hours that he could have spent for studying major subjects, but no, their school insists on squeezing minor classes into their busy schedules just to torture them.

“Oh, really? What classes are those?” Jisung asks excitedly. Unlike most students, he actually loves his minor subjects, since they’re kind of like a break from stressful formulas and equations.

“Philosophy and History.”

“What?! I have those subjects, too!” Jisung exclaims.

“Yeah, I know. We’re classmates.” Minho smirks at Jisung’s comical expression. His eyes have widened so much, Minho silently wondered if it didn’t hurt the corner of Jisung’s eyes. His lips have formed a large round heart shape again, which was so cute that it was all Minho could do not to pinch the other’s cheeks.

The gears in Jisung’s head are turning. If they have classes together, then that means he’ll get to see Minho almost every day for three hours. He pulls out the registration certificate from his bag to check the schedule of their classes - they have Philosophy every Monday and Thursday at 9 AM to 12 noon, and History every Tuesday and Friday at 3 to 6 PM. He doesn’t know why this makes him giddy, and he doesn’t want to find out either, but he beamed at Minho nonetheless to show that he’s super happy with how his schedule turned out.

Minho returns the smile hesitantly, like he doesn’t understand what Jisung’s smiling about. He intentionally put Jisung in the same classes as his, since he thought that would at least make those classes a little less boring if he knows someone in it. And with the way he’s feeling at ease with the younger, it seems like he made the right decision. Minho knew from fixing Jisung’s schedule that he’s major is Electronics Engineering, so he no longer asked for that, but he found out that Jisung have always had a penchant for taking apart appliances and electronic devices just to study how they work, destroying most of their family’s stuff in the process after unsuccessfully reassembling them back. Jisung found out Minho took Electrical Engineering just for the heck of it, but he’s doing pretty well anyway.

They talked for a few more minutes about themselves, words coming easy between them, before the barista walked up to their table to deliver their food. “Hello! Here are your orders,” she sets down the tray and places the food on the table. Just as Minho and Jisung were about to say their thanks, she holds out a Polaroid camera to them. “Uhm, will you two be willing to a selfie using this for out photo wall?” She asks with a shy smile, pointing to the wall filled with Polaroid pictures and illuminated with fairy lights, “It’s okay if you don’t want to. My boss just wants us to fill that wall with ‘memories,’ and I actually get a dollar for every photo I manage to put up there.”

Jisung looks questioningly at Minho, letting him decide for the both of them. “Sure! No problem.” Minho tells the girl as he takes the Polaroid camera from her. He scooted towards Jisung, so he’ll be able to get the two of them in the frame, oblivious to how he’s making the younger more and more flustered as the distance between them shrink.

Jisung wills himself not to blush as he puts up a peace sign like Minho and smiles at the camera that the elder is now holding in front of them. As the camera flashed, Jisung briefly thought about how weird this situation is. They’ve only known each other for an hour and now here they are taking a photo that’s going to be displayed on the “memory” wall of this café for who knows how long.

Minho hands the camera back to the barista, who’s also now holding the printed out photo, fanning it in front of her and waiting for the image to show up. “Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy your food!” She said as smiles brightly at them and walks back to the counter.

“I didn’t even get to see the photo.” Jisung huffs and pouts, “What if I look awful in that?”

“You won’t be able to edit it anyway, so seeing it won’t matter.” Minho giggles, to which Jisung pouted even more. “Don’t worry, I’ll ask her to scan it and send it to me.”

The two of them devoured their cakes in comfortable silence. Jisung can’t help but be amazed at how at ease he felt around Minho. He usually finds it impossible to stay still and not feel awkward when he’s not talking. With Minho, it’s like he’s not pressured to do or say anything and yet everything’s completely OK. The small talks they do have in between chewing their food also came easy, not forced.

Soon enough, Jisung is scraping the last bits of ganache of his plate, having finished his cake a lot faster than he would’ve wanted. He takes a small sip of hot chocolate. It tasted rich and so velvety, sending warmth through his belly and he wanted nothing but to chug it down. But a glance at his watch tells him it’s only 11:15 AM and they still have almost an hour to kill. He tries to keep the pout off his lips as he stares longingly at his hot cocoa and wills himself to hold back on drinking it. He doesn’t want to order another cup and have Minho think that he’s a glutton.

He’s not doing a good job of it apparently, since Minho giggles at him before ambling to the counter to order another cup of hot cocoa for the younger and ask the barista to send a scanned copy of the Polaroid to his email. Jisung is again taken aback, for what felt like the hundredth time over the past hour. “Hyuuuung! Stop being so nice! I can’t owe you so many favors, I won’t be able to pay them back!” He retorts, again with a pout. He’s nothing if not unnecessarily dramatic.

“You looked physically hurt from trying not to gulp down your hot cocoa.” Minho said, eyes dancing with mirth. “And I’m being nice because I want to, so please stop thinking you owe me something.” Jisung just pouts at him again, and Minho can’t help but think that he’s becoming fond of the other’s pouty lips now.

The next hours pass by quickly with the both of them enjoying each other’s company. After Jisung finished his second cup of hot cocoa, they walked back to their building and lined up for 3 hours to pay, all the while talking about anything and everything under the sun. They really “click,” the two of them. They are so different from each other and yet so similar. When they finally finished everything they needed to fix at school and now had to part ways and go home, Jisung can’t help but feel a tinge of sadness, already missing the other boy.

“Hey, hyung, I know I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again anyway. Thank you so much, for helping me out and for making this day bearable.” Jisung says earnestly as they walk through Yellow Park, towards the gate of the campus. He looks at Minho from under his lashes and smiles at him brightly, “I really had so much fun with you today. I swear!”

“Don’t mention it. I had fun, too.” Minho says, his melodic voice sounding a lot clearer now that there are less people around them. They stopped when they reached the gates of the campus, and just stood there for a while, looking like they wanted to say something more to each other but not knowing what, before Minho finally reaches out to Jisung and engulfs him in a warm hug. “Let’s do this again sometime.” The elder mumbled on his hair, before quickly unlatching himself from the hug and walking away from him backwards.

Jisung wills the blush away from his cheeks and tries to get his heart to beat a little less fast and loud – it felt like it would beat right out of his ribcage. He waves Minho goodbye and brisk-walks the rest of the way to the apartment and into his room, where he flopped down on the bed and squealed happily into his pillow, a silly smile on his face. He just laid there for who knows how long, repeating everything that happened earlier in his head. Trying not to put too much meaning into every action, since Minho and him were just friends.

He’s only pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a notification from his phone. He fishes it out of his bag and is surprised to see that it was a chat from Minho.

-

**04/26/2019 6:28 PM | Lee Minho & Han Jisung**

Lee Minho: Hey

Lee Minho: Did you make it home okay?

Han Jisung: hi, yes :3

Lee Minho: Okay, good.

Lee Minho: I’m rolling my eyes at your emoji right now, just so you know

Han Jisung: how could you! this is a cat and it’s adorable :3

Lee Minho: I guess it’s my favorite emoji then :3

Lee Minho: Anyway, the café sent me this photo

Han Jisung: oh my goshhhh!! Yeeeeey!!

Han Jisung: i look meh, but i guess that’s ok

Han Jisung: since you look gorgeous anyway

Lee Minho: Lol what?

Lee Minho: I think you’re cute. :)

Han Jisung: wuuuut :3

Lee Minho: Thank you for spending this day with me.

Lee Minho: Go rest now. Take a nap or something. I know you’re tired. :)

Jisung smiles to himself goofily as he stares at the photo on his screen and tries to get his heartbeat under control.

**04/26/2019 6:34 PM | Lee Minho & Han Jisung**

Han Jisung: thank you, hyung. You too. ❤ :)

**05/06/2019 7:05 AM | Lee Minho & Han Jisung**

Han Jisung: gooood morning

_Han Jisung set Lee Minho’s nickname to Minho-hyung_ _♡_

Minho-hyung♡: Morning! :)

Minho-hyung♡: What’s up with the nickname lol

Han Jisung: what?? i think it’s cute!

Minho-hyung♡: Do I get to change your nickname too?

Han Jisung: is that even a question?

_Lee Minho set Han Jisung’s nickname to Jisungie_ _♡_

Jisungie♡: jisungie???

Minho-hyung♡: Why? Don’t you like it? :(

Jisungie♡: i doooo ｡^‿^｡

Minho-hyung♡: Lol, you and your emojis again.

Minho-hyung♡: I’m gonna go prepare for class. See you later, Jisungie!

Jisungie♡: see you later hyung! (っ´▽｀)っ

-

Jisung smiled to himself as he tapped on the send button on the chat and pulled himself out of bed to prepare for their first day of classes. The first class he has for today is Philosophy with Minho at 9AM, and he’s ecstatic!

He hasn’t seen Minho since the day they first met at the campus, but they hadn’t stopped talking to each other as well. He’s learned so much about the older boy, mainly about how he’s so thoughtful and caring, and he can’t help but be amazed at how the two of them complement each other really well, as if they’re two halves of the one unit.

Sometimes they’d chat until dawn and would only realize that they lost sleep once they hear the early morning birds start chirping. Jisung thinks it’s the best way to lose sleep, and he hopes Minho thinks so too. But he never said anything about it, and honestly, he can’t help but be afraid of what he’s feeling. He isn’t ready to dig deeper into it either to understand. He decided to just go with flow and enjoy whatever it is he has with Minho until it lasts. And he prays to god that it lasts long.

Jisung quickly showers and puts on a dusty green oversized shirt, black jeans, and a navy blue cap before slinging his backpack onto his shoulders and stepping out of his room. Chan is in the kitchen packing lunch for the three of them, while Changbin is still singing his lungs out in the shower even though he’s already running late.

“Good morning, Channie-hyung!” Jisung greets the blonde as he sauntered into the kitchen. He’s grateful every day that he’s sharing the apartment with Chan, who somehow became the mother hen in their house. Sometimes, Chan’s boyfriend, Hyunjin, would sleep over the apartment, and that’s when they’d feel like a complete family, Changbin being the angsty first-born and him being the bratty youngest, which was nice since it helps them get over homesickness, with their families miles away from them.

“Good morning! Ready for the first day of classes?” Chan asked with a fond smile, handing over a paper bag filled with food to Jisung. It’s supposed to be his breakfast and lunch, but he would probably devour it all before lunchtime anyway.

“Yeah! I’m so ready and super excited!” Jisung pumps his fist in the air, the butterflies in his stomach fluttering at the thought of seeing Minho again. “What about you, hyung? What time is your first class?”

“It starts at 11 AM, so I still have lots of hours to kill. But _you_ will be running late soon if you don’t get your ass out of here and run to class.” Chan pushes Jisung out the kitchen and motions for him to get going.

“Alright, alright, alright! See you later, hyung!” Jisung called out as he steps out of the house.

The walk to the campus is short. Their flat is only 5 minutes away from it, so it’s basically impossible to be late, unless you’re like Changbin who totally doesn’t care about the time. He walked slowly, stopping every now and then to take in the scenery around him, yet he still got to the room 30 minutes early. The seats were mostly empty aside from the few occupied by early birds like him. Minho’s not there yet, so he chose a seat at rightmost side of the room, on the last tier. He sits on the last seat in that row and places his bag on the one next to him to reserve it for Minho, hesitating for a moment at the thought that the older boy might not really want to seat with him.

He puts on his earphones and starts scribbling a few phrases on his notebook. When his head is not filled with equations and he’s got no one to talk to, this is what he loves to do: pour out his thoughts into lyrics that he won’t actually sing. He busies himself, barely noting that more and more students have finally made their way into the room, some seating with their acquaintances while others chose to seat alone. He was so immersed in what he was writing that he didn’t notice when someone stood beside him and looked over his shoulders.

Minho must’ve been staring at Jisung and his notes for almost five minutes before finally deciding to alert the younger to his presence. Jisung made a cute little yelping sound when Minho pulled out his earphones and covered his eyes with his hands. Minho lowers his head and whispers next to Jisung’s ears, “Guess who?”

The sudden gust of wind on Jisung’s nape from Minho’s whisper sends a tremor down his body that he’s barely able to hold in. “Hyuuuung!” He doesn’t know how he even managed to speak since his head’s currently spinning from their close distance. He’s pretty sure his cheeks are beet red right now, so he takes a few seconds to compose himself before finally looking up at Minho, only to have his breath knocked out of him once again when he saw the elder.

Minho’s wearing a slightly oversized striped blue button down shirt, with the buttons undone, over another dusty blue polo that’s tucked into his tight skinny black jeans. He looked like a model straight out of a magazine. Again. Jisung tries his best to keep his eyes from widening, greeting Minho instead with a wide smile and motioning for him to sit beside him.

“Hi.” Minho says sheepishly as he settles down beside Jisung. He kind of missed this squirrel boy, despite trying not to. “This is the first time that I actually looked forward to attending class for a minor subject.”

“Oh? Really? Why?” Jisung’s mind is too muddled to comprehend what Minho meant, so when the other just smiles quizzically at him, he just scrunches his nose up and knits his brows together in confusion.

Minho laughs even more, the melodic sound instantly brightening up Jisung’s entire year. “The professor will be here soon, so take this off.” Minho reaches out hand to Jisung’s hair and takes off his hat, tousling his hair a little before fixing it for him.

Jisung sends him a sheepish smile. The sudden contact may not be much of a big deal for Minho, judging by how he looks so unbothered, but for Jisung it was unsettling and it was enough to send his heart to a frenzy. Five minutes in with Minho and he feels like he’s ready to go into cardiac arrest. He can’t imagine how much more flustered he’ll get with their other classes. He seriously needs to get his shit together, or else this term will be a long and grueling one.

Philosophy turned out to be entertaining, to Minho’s surprise, and not just because he’s with Jisung (although that’s a big factor for sure) but also because their professor is actually a good one. The topics aren’t boring either; the one they talked about today was about passion and he found out that Jisung also had a passion for writing songs. The younger was delightfully surprised to find out that Minho was passionate about dancing and actually does it as for a living whenever he has the time.

Before they knew it, the 3-hour class was over and it was time to have lunch. Eating meals together just naturally happened for Minho and Jisung, it was like they had a silent agreement, and soon it became their routine.

They have lunch every Monday and Thursday after Philosophy, and dinner every Tuesday and Friday after History. After lunchtime on Mondays and Thursdays, Minho insists on walking Jisung to his next class before running to his own class at the other side of the building. After dinnertime on Tuesdays and Fridays, Minho would walk Jisung to his apartment before going home. Their walks together take 10 times longer than it probably should, but that’s okay because they had fun anyway.

On Wednesdays when they don’t have classes together and none of their break times overlap, they meet up at Knot café to get breakfast before going to class. And on weekends, they somehow manage to make up for the time they’re not together by chatting with each other nonstop. They’ve become so entangled in each other’s daily lives within such a short period of time, their routine becoming a habit that both of them never seem to want to break.

These days, Jisung always finds himself thinking about what it all actually means and then end up berating himself for thinking that it could mean anything other than friendship. But could he really fault himself for thinking that when they sometimes look at each other like had unspoken feelings in their eyes? When Minho sometimes looks at his lips a little too intensely, causing him to stare at the elder’s lips as well until they lean towards each other, only for the tension to be shattered the next moment? When their hands would brush against each so often that you can’t consider it accidental anymore? When sometimes Minho’s hand would linger a few seconds longer than normal on the small of his back or on his hips? When they would text each other sweet and thoughtful things every single day?

Do friends really do those things?

It all makes Jisung confused. But as much as he wants to clear things up between them, he just can’t get himself to finally ask Minho, since he’s also scared that doing so would change everything, that it would create a rift between them. He’s become so attached to Minho already that he’s just willing to enjoy whatever this is as long as it lasts despite being so ambiguous, if that means they won’t drift apart.

\---

It was a weekend, the first days of summer. And as usual, he’s immersed in chatting with Minho while he’s sprawled out on the living room floor, paying no mind to Chan and Hyunjin cuddling on the couch, or to Changbin snoring loudly on the recliner. It’s almost lunchtime and they’re all gathered there to supposedly watch a film on Netflix. They quickly lost interest in it, though, so they just hang around and did their own business while the film plays in the background.

Jisung is pulled from his thoughts when he hears Chan call out Chanbin’s name.

“What?” Chabin asked groggily, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand.

“Hyunjin and I are planning to cook a big dinner tonight-”

“Of course, we’re having chicken!” Hyunjin cuts him off to proclaim his love for poultry, dragging out the last syllable with glee.

Chan only rolled his eyes and turned to Changbin. “Anyway, do you want to invite Felix over?”

Felix is also from Australia like Chan, but he came to Korea as an exchange student at Levanter University. It’s been nine months since he moved into the apartment next door, nine months since Changbin fell head over heels for him. Nine months and yet Changbin has yet to find the courage to tell him how he feels. They all keep encouraging him to confess, especially since they see how Felix likes him a lot too, but Changbin always chickens out. Jisung’s pretty sure their relationship is a lot more pathetic that his and Minho.

Changbin visibly brightens up at the thought of inviting Felix over and texts the other quickly.

“What about you, Jisung? Do you have someone to invite over?” Chan turns to him with a teasing smirk.

“W-what? No, I don’t.” Jisung’s cheeks redden but he tries to act nonchalant.

“Oh?” Chan prods him more, his shit-eating grin growing wider. “Are you sure Minho wouldn’t want to come over for dinner?”

“Who’s Minho?” Hyunjin asked Chan, the same time Changbin said “Is Minho your boyfriend?”

“What?! B-boyfriend? Hah!” Jisung sputters, pulling himself up to a sitting position. “He’s not my _boyfriend._ We’re just close friends. He helped me take slots for my classes last enrollment.”

“But do you like him?” Changbin asks with the same shit-eating grin that Chan has on his face. Actually, the three hyungs in front of him all had that annoying grin. Jisung’s cheeks flushes even more, heat waves practically radiating from them and making him look all the more guilty.

“Stop it!” He whined, sending Chan a glare for exposing him like this. He can’t really say he doesn’t like Minho, because maybe he does and he sucks at lying, so it’s better to just avoid the question entirely.

“Wait! Is he the one you’re texting nonstop all day long for the past month?” Changbin exclaims, his eyes widening at the realization.

“Ok, hold up! We don’t text, we chat.” Jisung tries to stall for time as he thinks of a topic that would divert their attention. “And just because we talk to each other a lot, doesn’t mean there’s something between us. We just get along really well.” He hears Changbin snort at that and glares at him.

“You’re one to tease. What happened with confessing to Felix last Friday?” Jisung snaps at Changbin, sticking his tongue out childishly when Changbin glared at him.

“Alright, alright, let’s not tease Changbin. Lord knows how frustrated he is right now. Did you know that Junhoe from the apartment beside us actually asked Felix out on a date?” Chan said while laughing at Changbin’s sour expression.

“Anyway, you can invite Minho if you want, Jisung. It’s always better to eat, with more people around.” Hyunjin says. 

Jisung sends him a grateful smile and nods. He worries his lips for a few minutes before finally working up the courage to ask Minho. He knows it’s just dinner between a bunch of friends, but he can’t help but feel like this is a big deal, like he’s introducing Minho to his parents, which was funny because it really shouldn’t be that big of a deal.

-

**06/01/2019 10:46 AM | Minho-hyung** **♡** ** & Jisungie** **♡**

Jisungie♡: hyung (ΦωΦ)

Minho-hyung♡: Is that a cat emoji? Lol

Jisungie♡: that’s Doongie

Jisungie♡: this one’s Soonie ^ↀᴥↀ^

Jisungie♡: and of course Dori, my favorite baby, (^･ｪ･^)

Minho-hyung♡: Why are you playing favorites with my children :(

Jisungie♡: i can’t help it T_T

Jisungie♡: dori is the cutest

Minho-hyung♡: :(

Jisungie♡: lmao anywayyyyy

Jisungie♡: do you wanna come over for dinner?

Jisungie♡: chan and hyunjin are cooking fancy chicken tonight

Minho-hyung♡: Sure, what time?

Jisungie♡: we eat around 7PM

Jisungie♡: but you can come earlier so we could hang out

Minho-hyung♡: Alright, see you later! :)

Jisungie♡: See you hyung!!!

And then Jisung sends a “❤” just because he can, smiling to himself as he presses Send. He spends the next hours raiding his closet for something nice to wear, which Chanbin finds funny since it’s just a regular dinner after all, and in their apartment at that. Four hours and a missed lunch later, Jisung finally decides to put on his favorite white shirt and a pair of comfy baggy joggers – yes, he really wasted hours on this outfit – before skipping out of his room and waiting for Minho at the living room. 

Chan and Hyunjin have gone out to buy ingredients for dinner, while Changbin is holed up in his room probably taking a nap. Jisung makes himself comfortable on the couch, flipping through different movies on Netflix but not really paying attention to any of them. It was a quarter till 4 when he hears their doorbell chime. He almost trips over his feet in his haste to open the front door and let the visitor in, he’s pretty sure that it’s Minho.

His gut feeling is confirmed when he opens the door to a sheepish-looking Minho clad in black oversized shirt and black pants, holding a basket of fruits. Jisung can’t help but chuckle a little at the gracious gesture, thinking of Minho browsing the grocery aisle and choosing a fruit basket on his way to the apartment. He takes the basket with an amused smile, earning a glare from Minho as he ushers him into the house.

“Chan-hyung and Hyunjin are out right now to buy stuff for dinner, but they should be home soon.” Jisung says as he wait for Minho to take off his shoes and step into their living room. He motions for Minho to sit. “Make yourself comfortable, I’ll just put this in the kitchen. Do you want a drink?”

“Yeah, please. I’m good with anything you have.” Minho says as he sits down.

While Jisung is in the kitchen, Minho took the chance to look around the house from where he’s sitting. He doesn’t want to look nosy, but other people’s home always piques his interest. The way the rooms are arranged and how they’re decorated are always so fascinating for him.

Jisung’s apartment is twice bigger than his studio unit, which is only fitting since it’s shared by three people. The black leather sofa is facing the wall where the door and TV is; on its left side is a big window that’s filling the room with natural lighting. On his right side is a small hallway with two doors, which he assumes are the rooms. He twists around to look at the hallways where Jisung disappeared with a fruit basket; he assumes that’s where the kitchen is. The dining table is placed just a few meters from the couch, and beside it is another room. There were several exercise equipment littered around the living room, and Minho catches himself thinking that it’s probably why Jisung’s biceps look buff.

Reddening at the thought, he continues looking around the living room, noting that it really didn’t have any decors save from the single frame hanging on the wall by the TV, which houses a photo of Jisung and three other boys he hasn’t met. Two of the boys were holding hands, so he assumes, from Jisung’s stories, that they’re Chan and Hyunjin, although he doesn’t know who’s who. The other boy, who’s several centimeters shorter than Jisung is probably Changbin.

He hears Jisung’s soft footsteps from the kitchen and turns to see him gingerly holding a pitcher with some sort of pink juice in his right hand and two glasses in his left, while squeezing a large bag of chips in between his elbow and side so it doesn’t fall. Minho can’t help but chuckle at Jisung’s silliness, walking over to him to help. Their hands briefly touch as he takes the pitcher, and it was all he could do not to hold Jisung’s hand right then and there. His fingers linger over Jisung’s for half a second longer than it should, but he prays that the other is too preoccupied with everything he’s holding to notice.

When he takes the chips squished into Jisung’s side, he accidentally touches the skin behind the younger’s arm. He flinches away, as he felt hot sparks travelling from his fingertips and all throughout his body, making his heart do somersaults in his chest.

“D-do you wanna watch a movie?” Jisung trips over his own words, feeling flustered and annoyed at himself because it’s not like they held hands, why did he have to be so affected?

“Yeah, sure. What movie do you want to watch?” Minho asks as they make themselves comfortable on the sofa.

“I’m good with anything, as long as it’s not scary.” Jisung says sheepishly, which Minho found absolutely adorable. They end up choosing a romcom; it was actually a good movie, and soon enough the room is filled with their hearty laughs at every ridiculous scene.

Jisung’s not sure how it happened, who scooted closer to who, because suddenly the two of them are closer than they’ve ever been, their shoulders touching and leaning against each other. One of Minho’s arms is now slung on the seat behind Jisung, and he can’t help but feel hyperaware of how snuggly he fits into Minho’s sides. The two of them grow silent despite another funny scene on the TV, seeming to realize their positions.

Yes, they might have talked to each other longer than they’ve ever talked to anyone recently, they might have seen each other almost every day for the past weeks, and they know they’ve grown really really close, but they’ve never been _this_ close physically. This was all so new to the both of them.

Minho clears his throat, trying not to sound awkward but failing grandly. “Do you feel comfortable?” he asks Jisung in a low voice, cringing inwardly at how weird the question sounded. He pats Jisung’s shoulder in an attempt to make the question sound a little more friendly, only to feel blush creeping into his cheeks as he realizes that his hand is now resting gently on the younger’s shoulder. _Fuck it, it’s there now. I might as well keep it there._ He thinks to himself.

“Yeah, I do.” Jisung answers in a small voice. And he does feel comfortable, in more ways than one. In ways that he won’t ever feel brave enough to tell Minho. Instead, he leans his head on Minho’s shoulder and continues watching the movie. They sat there watching in silence for several minutes until they’re back to laughing again, already cuddling comfortably as if they’ve been doing this for years already. Minho has one of his arms looped around Jisung’s waist, while his other hand is resting on Jisung’s legs, which are now slung over his thigh. Jisung’s still leaning his head on Minho’s shoulder, and the latter has taken to leaning his cheek over the younger’s hair, burying his nose in it every now and then to breathe in the comforting vanilla and lavender scent of Jisung’s shampoo. They may be comfortable cuddling, but their heart never stopped hammering in their chest.

This is how Changbin finds them when he stepped out of his room to pick up Felix next door - with Minho sniffing the crown of Jisung’s hair as the younger feeds him a piece of potato chip, both of them not taking their eyes from the movie. It’s like they’ve cuddled a thousand times already and every move is from muscle memory so they no longer think about what they’re doing.

The sight was so intimate and domestic, it almost makes Changbin want to claw his eyes out. Instead, he awkwardly clears his throat from behind, “Hey, uhhh…” Jisung and Minho both jumps at his voice, clamoring to put space between them and almost tripping over each other’s limbs as they stood up. Changbin struggles to hold back the teasing smile threatening to form on his lips, but fails miserably when he sees how red Jisung has become. They guy beside him, he’s assuming it’s Minho, looks unperturbed but the way he keeps fiddling with the edges of his sleeves gave him away.

“H-hey, hyung!” Jisung greets, sending Changbin a warning glare after he saw how the older is close to bursting as he tries hold in his laughter. “This is Minho. Minho-hyung, this is Changbin-hyung.”

“Nice meeting you.” Minho greets the other, offering his hand, which Changbin promptly shakes in a firm grip.

“It’s nice to _finally_ meet you as well!” Changbin beams at Minho a little too brightly. He made sure to put emphasis on the word “finally” to tease Jisung, and sure enough, the younger is now glaring daggers at him. “I’m on my way out to get Felix-“

“Felix is his _boyfriend_.” Jisung cuts him off to tease back. The shit-eating grin on Changbin’s face immediately fell at this. He puts Jisung in a headlock and tickles him violently until the younger is begging for his life, a heaping and heaving mess on the floor. Minho just stands to the side and watches their antics.

“Don’t you dare say that in front of Felix… or else.” Changbin warns, sending a meaningful glance at Minho. This makes Minho feel all the more confused, especially when Jisung seems to understand the threat and promises to keep his mouth shut around Felix.

Once Changbin is out the room, Minho sits on the floor beside Jisung, who’s still lying on his back and catching his breath. “What was that about?”

“What was what about?”

“Why did Changbin looked at me like that when he was threatening you?” He asks as he places one of his hands beside Jisung’s head, while the other cards through the younger’s hair. He really just wanted to play with Jisung’s hair when he shifted to this position, he didn’t realize how it would place his upper body right above Jisung, so he was also surprised when he looked down and saw that his lips and eyes are at level with Jisung’s own.

His heartbeat has gone into overdrive. He swallows hard and tries to get his heart under control as he continues stroking Jisung’s hair, not wanting to suddenly stop and make things awkward.

Jisung, on the other hand, feels like he’s about to die. Minho’s close, too close. He could feel the elder’s breath fan over him when he breathes, see how his long eyelashes touch the skin beneath his eyes every time he blinks, and see every single line on his lips. _Why the fuck am I even looking at his lips._

This is probably the best way to go, if he’s being absolutely honest with himself.

“U-uhh, he keeps teasing me that you’re my boyfriend.” He manages to answer, only to realize a second too late that he was too honest. He shouldn’t have said that aloud. _Shit. Shit. SHIT._

“Oh...” was all Minho could say in a surprised tone. He doubts Minho even planned to say that out loud.

“I mean...” Jisung tries his best to find a way out and give a logical explanation to what he just said, but Minho’s fingers still carding through his hair isn’t really helping and all he wants is to just lean into the touch. Or maybe lean forward to Minho’s lips. He groans inwardly at his dangerous thoughts. “Uhm… just forget I said that, please.”

“But... why?” Minho raises one of his brows at Jisung, noting how the younger’s eyes have widened a bit, before looking at his lips. He immediately regrets doing so, because now it’s taking all his will to keep himself from kissing Jisung senseless, and his willpower really is running low from all the cuddles they’ve been doing.

“What do you mean ‘why’?” Jisung whispers, his eyes stealing a glance at Minho’s lips. And that was all it took. That was all it took for Minho to lose all control, finally throwing caution to the wind as he leans down and closes the distance between them.

Jisung lets out a surprised gasp. The split second before Minho leans in, he saw him closing his eyes. And so he closes his own too and waited for their lips to meet. Their lips touch briefly, but it wasn’t a kiss yet, just a graze. It’s as if Minho’s waiting for him to tell him this was okay, so Jisung gives a small nod, causing their lips to brush together. Minho shifted to deepen the kiss, his movements were slow, making Jisung yearn for the touch even more.

But before the kiss even deepened, they hear the lock to the front door click. All of a sudden, the tension between them disappears and they sprang apart hurriedly, trying to act like nothing happened as Chan and Hyunjin entered the room.

“Hyungs! You’re back!” Jisung exclaimed a little too loudly, looking at Hyunjin and Chan upside down from his position on the floor, his heart still pounding in his chest. Minho’s sitting cross-legged beside him and also looking up at the two older boys.

“Uhh… yeah. What are you two doing down there? We have a couch, y’know.” Chan asks, his brows furrowed in an amused yet confused expression.

Jisung scrambles to pull himself up to a sitting position. “This is Minho-hyung, by the way. Hyung, this is Chan and Hyunjin.”

“Oh, nice to _finally_ meet you.” Hyunjin bites the inside of his cheeks to keep himself from grinning widely at Jisung’s horrified expression - absolutely clueless that it’s exactly what Changbin also said earlier.

Minho raises his brows and smirks at Jisung before shaking the hand that Hyunjin offered. “You all seem to be waiting to meet me. That’s exactly what Changbin also said earlier.”

“Oh really? It’s just that Jisung’s been talking about you a lot-“ Chan starts to say but is cut off when Jisung suddenly clasped a hand around his mouth.

“What are you talking about?? I didn’t do that!” Jisung screeches in panic, completely missing the bashful smile Minho made at the thought of Jisung talking about him to his friends.

Chan simply rolls his eyes at him, chuckling as he taps on Jisung’s hands to tell him to let go. “Whatever. We’re going to prepare for dinner.” Chan says, making his way to the kitchen. “Make yourself at home, Minho.”

_Oh god_. Jisung is convinced that his hyungs have completely, thoroughly ruined this day for him. How is he supposed to face Minho now? It’s like having your elder relatives coddle and embarrass you in front of your friends and leave you with no ounce of dignity.

Minho seems to sense Jisung’s discomfort when the younger just awkwardly stood there and avoided his eyes. “So Jisungie… are we gonna continue watching the movie or what?” He says as he slings his arm around Jisung’s shoulders, hoping that would dissipate the awkward silence between them.

Turns out it does, as Jisung beams at him and walked over to the couch to continue watching the movie where they left off. The two of them are back to cuddling in no time, completely oblivious to the teasing glances Hyunjin and Chan are shooting them from the dining area where they’re preparing ingredients for dinner. After about an hour, Changbin returns home with Felix in tow. Minho thinks the pink-haired boy is like a ray of sunshine, a stark contrast to Changbin’s dark vibe. He glows when he smiles, and his freckles seem to glitter along with it. _But, _Minho thinks, _Jisung’s heart-shaped smiles are still prettier._

When the movie ends, Minho volunteers to help Chan and Hyunjin with kitchen chores. Jisung volunteers as well, only to be kicked out as Chan scolded him about the last time he broke their faucet and flooded the kitchen. He’s happy Minho seems to integrate himself flawlessly into his group of friends. So he doesn’t complain even when he ends up third-wheeling Changbin and Felix, who are seated side by side, playing video games.

Just when Jisung has had enough of Changbin’s longing stares and fond smiles at Felix, Chan and Hyunjin finally announces that dinner is ready. The smell of garlic herb roast chicken wafts throughout the room as Minho sets the glass dish in the middle of the table. Around it are all kinds of side dishes, and Jisung was surprised to find that there are also two sets of chicken wings, one buffalo flavored and the other a garlic parmesan, to add to the feast. Chan and Hyunjin really outdid themselves this time.

“Wow,” Was all Felix and Changbin can say.

“This wouldn’t be possible without Minho’s help.” Chan says, making Minho smile sheepishly. “He made the side dishes and the chicken wings.”

“Woooah!! They look amazing!” Jisung, exclaims, practically drooling. He stares wide-eyed at Minho. “You never told me you can cook, hyung!”

“Well… surprise?” Minho chuckles ruefully.

“Anywayyyy!! Let’s eat!!” Hyunjin says excitedly with a clap of his hands, already taking seat at the head of the table. Chan takes a seat to his left, and the rest of them find their own places at the table. They didn’t have to be told twice before they dig in.

Jisung thinks this is probably the best meal he’s had in years. He finds the chicken wings perfect for his taste and probably ate more of it than the other dishes — okay, he probably ate more than half of it, not even the least bit embarrassed as he take four wings at a time every time he refills his plate. When Changbin complains that Minho made the dish for _all_ of them to share, Jisung at least felt a little guilty. But a glance at Minho’s amused smile at him tells him that the older doesn’t really mind if he devours all of it.

Within minutes, the feast on the table is scarfed down by six hungry boys, and then all of them lean back in their seats, tummy filled up and satisfied. One by one, the others filed out the dining area and went into their own rooms until it was only Minho and Jisung left at the table, the latter having volunteered to do the dishes.

They watch Youtube videos in Jisung’s phone, shoulder touching and head huddled together, as they rest for a bit. Jisung lets out a satisfied sigh and rubs his full tummy. “Hyuuung, that meal was so good!” He exclaims, resting his head on Minho’s shoulder. “Can you cook like that for me - I mean, us – next time?”

That Jisung was about to single out himself to enjoy Minho’s cooking isn’t lost on the older boy. He beams at him and ruffles his hair. “I don’t cook for free.” He teases, laughing quietly when he sees Jisung pout.

“I’ll just hire you then! I’ll pay you. But you have to live here, so I can make you cook stuff for me anytime I want.” Jisung tells him with a bright smile on his face, completely clueless at how his words made Minho’s heart do somersaults in his chest.

“What a great friend you are, paying for someone to cook for all your friends.”

“Who says I’ll share it with them?” Jisung lifts his head from the older’s shoulder and widens his eyes in disbelief. His expression sours as he realizes that Minho has a point. His hyungs even cooked for him tonight, so there’s no reason for him not to share.

Minho watches the changes in Jisung’s facial expression with amusement. The conversation is really ridiculous, and the fact that Jisung seems to be considering the scenario seriously is even funnier. But the silliness of it all, of Jisung, is exactly why Minho is so charmed by him. There’s never a boring moment when the two of them are together, even when they’re not talking and just enjoying companionable silence. Minho’s pulled from his thoughts when he hears Jisung gasp, as if he’s made a groundbreaking realization. He looks curiously at the younger and waits for whatever ridiculousness he comes up with this time.

“I know! How about I live with you instead?” Jisung tells him excitedly, his lips forming a big, round heart shape again.

It was so easy for Jisung to suggest that that Minho thinks that maybe the feelings that have been plaguing him these past weeks aren’t reciprocated. Maybe Jisung really thinks of him as nothing but a friend - a soulmate, as he’s called him once. Maybe it was him reading all the signs wrong. Hell, he doesn’t even know if Jisung even _likes_ boys. The realization sends his heart plummeting to his stomach, especially when he thought about what he almost did earlier. Was he forcing himself onto Jisung?

He moves to put a space between the two of them, only to stop short when he glances at Jisung and sees how red he’s become, his lips forming words but it’s as if his voice fails him.

“What? Is anything wrong?” He asks, worry seeping into his voice.

“Oh, nothing. It’s nothing. Don’t mind me.”

“What? You just can’t tell me it’s nothing when you obviously looked like you were about to say something.” At Jisung’s silence, Minho prods again, “Come on, spill it.”

Jisung gave an exasperated huff before responding, “Ugh, fine. You looked uncomfortable after what I said, and I realized I was being too nosy and insensitive. Especially with… uhm.. with what happened earlier. Like, what if you don’t really like living with someone? Or what if you _already_ live with someone? But what I said was just a joke. Please don’t let that make you feel uncomfortable around me.” Jisung realizes he was rambling, but whatever.

Once again, Minho finds himself amused at the silliness of this conversation. How Jisung even thought he’d feel uncomfortable at the thought of them living together is beyond him. But most of all, how did Jisung even assume that he’s already living with someone?? And so he voices out this question with an incredulous look.

“Oh… I don’t know… You’re handsome, hyung. I can’t believe no one has tried getting with you yet.” Jisung tells him shyly.

“Well… I didn’t say no one is interested in me.” Minho smirks when he sees Jisung’s face etch with a mixture of surprise and worry. “Sure, there are a few girls here and there who try, but they’re not really my type. I mean, I’m _not_ into girls.” He pauses for a bit, letting the words sink into Jisung’s brain. All these times they’ve talked with each other, they never really got around the topic of their sexuality. Minho didn’t bother asking Jisung because what’s more important for him is that he feels completely at ease with the other. He never really thought that it would become a big deal because he suddenly started feeling things in his heart.

When Jisung’s eyes lights up with understanding, Minho takes that as his cue to continue. “There are a few guys who are interested in me as well. But, I don’t know, we just don’t click.” _Unlike the two of us._ Is what Minho wanted to say, but he doesn’t. Instead, he clarifies, “Wait, you do know I’m into guys, right?”

“I… honestly didn’t, you never told me. But I do now.” Jisung answers, “Just so you know, I’m into guys too.:

Minho finds it comforting that the two of them didn’t really find it hard to talk about their sexuality with each other. It’s just another proof of how well they match. Soulmates indeed.

“That’s good then.” Minho simply says, smiling as Jisung gives him a quizzical look, as if trying to discern if there’s something more to those words.

Minho chooses to ignore this, though, and stood up to start cleaning the table. “It’s getting late, so let’s get these cleaned.”

“Oh! Don’t worry about those, I’ll wash them later. Do you wanna go home now?” Jisung tries to keep the sadness off his voice. He really had fun hanging out with Minho this afternoon and he really didn’t want the day to end. Especially since he’ll be fifth-wheeling the two other couples in their apartment, with Hyunjin and Felix deciding to sleep over. Hyunjin slept over at their place so many times in the past, he even has his own toothbrush, set of slippers and change of clothes in Chan’s room. Felix staying over is a little surprising, although he’s done it in the past as well, but at Chan’s invitation. This time, it was Changbin who offered to let him sleep over, which was no problem at all since all he had to do is cross the hallway to get his stuff for the night.

But with Minho, Jisung actually finds himself feeling shy to ask the older to sleep over, thinking that it might be uncomfortable for the older, as it was the first time he came to their home. Jisung’s saved from these thoughts, though, when Minho said, “Why don’t I get to be invited for a sleep over? Felix and Hyunjin are here!”

Minho pouts at Jisung. “You’re shooing me away at this time of the night?” To be fair, it’s just 8PM and Minho could easily walk 10 minutes to his own apartment without a problem, but that’s beside the point, since right now all he wants is to prolong his day with Jisung.

And so he stays the night. They both wash the dishes and clean the kitchen before preparing for sleep. Jisung ushers him into his room. It was a little small, just enough for a single bed, a closet and a computer table to fit, but at least it has its own bathroom, which Minho finds impressive. It was unusual to find apartments that are this generous.

“Changbin’s family actually owns this apartment. It used to be their home before they moved into a house just outside the city.” Jisung explains when he voiced out his thoughts. “Hyung’s room is larger than this because it used to be the master bedroom; he even has a chandelier in there. Our rent here is cheap, so we’re thankful that hyung’s parents still made sure we’d live comfortably in this place.”

Minho nods his head in understanding. He tells Jisung that he turned out to be lucky with his apartment too, since the nice landlady lets him keep his cats. “You should come over sometime to meet them.”

“Ohhh!!! I would love that, hyung!” Jisung says excitedly. He hands Minho a set of clothes he can change into so he can be more comfortable. The baggy clothes fit him snugly, since he is a bit bigger and taller than Jisung.

Jisung volunteered to sleep on the floor so Minho can have the small bed to himself, but the latter is having none of it, so they end up sleeping next to each other on their sides. The small bed only brings them closer than they’ve ever been, even when Jisung tried to put some space between them by squishing himself against the wall, his back to Minho. Jisung’s pretty sure his heart was going to beat right out of his chest when Minho’s arms loops over his waist. They’re basically spooning now. “So I don’t fall off the edge,” Minho explains. When Jisung dies of a heart attack tonight, it’s all Minho’s fault.

Neither of them expects to fall asleep with how hyperaware they are of their every movement. The butterflies in their stomach are of no help either. Add that to the fact that they’re practically buzzing with agitated hormones right now, and well… Minho really didn’t think he’d be able to sleep, or even breathe. _Why did I put himself through this kind of hell, again?_ He groans internally.

Of course they didn’t voice out these thoughts to each other. But as their heartbeats calmed and their breathing becomes a little less erratic, they eventually feel their eyes grow heavy. Minho falls asleep first, the exhaustion of cooking and then cleaning finally catching up to him. When Jisung hears Minho’s breathing becomes even, he also let himself drift off to dreamland.

Sleeping cuddled like this is admittedly a lot more comfortable and warm than both of them had expected, their bodies fitting seamlessly into each other. It’s as if they were made for this. Yet another aspect where they complement each other perfectly.

\--

Minho is the first to wake up in the morning, being the morning person that he is. Momentarily forgetting where he is, he wonders why his bed seems to be a lot smaller and cramped than he remembers, why the sunlight was hitting him directly in the face when he put up curtains around his bed frame specifically to keep it out. It wasn’t until he moved his fingers and found that they’re caught in a tangle of cloth that he realizes where he had slept.

He slowly brings his eyes to where his hands are stuck under the twisted oversized shirt Jisung is wearing, causing it to ride up and reveal a small patch of the younger’s honey skin. He didn’t remember how it got there - it must’ve searched for a source of warmth while he was sleeping. He gingerly lifted his head and looked at their tangled legs and the blanket long forgotten on the floor.

Minho’s breath catches in his throat when he finally looks at Jisung. The younger rolled over overnight, so now they’re lying face to face. He can clearly see Jisung’s eyelashes fanning gently over his squishy cheeks, his lips slightly parted, his chest lightly moving with every breath. He looks so peaceful, calm and quiet. This is probably one of the only times that Jisung is quiet and Minho can’t help but smile to himself as he’s given the privilege of seeing this rare part of Jisung’s day.

He was suddenly hit with so much fondness for the other boy that he couldn’t help it when he reached out and hugged Jisung even tighter.

Jisung stirs at the feeling of arms encircling his body and pulling him into tighter into warmth, finally waking up from what is possibly the best sleep he’s had in months. He stills when he felt someone burying their head in the crook of his neck. As he moved his backward to see who it is, memories from the previous night came flooding in. He and Minho basically cuddled to sleep. _Cuddled! Do friends freaking do that??_

Well… maybe some friends really do that, and he shouldn’t think of it as a big deal. Maybe Minho’s just naturally clingy. It’s not his fault Jisung can’t guard his feelings.

“H-hyung?”

“Good morning, Jisungie.” Minho mumbles into his shoulder, his voice heavy with sleep. “Mhhhmm, this feels nice.”

Jisung’s face flame up with a blush. Thank god Minho’s not looking at him right now. He probably has eye crusts, too. _Oh shit, what if I drooled???_

Jisung casually rubbed his face on his sleeves to remove whatever shit is on there, feeling Minho’s head gently shift on his shoulder as he moved. He cuddles even closer to Jisung, as if that’s even possible. There’s basically no space left between the two of them now. It was the first time Jisung has ever been this close to anyone, with practically every inch of their bodies touching. Jisung forces himself not to think of that fact, willing his pounding heart to calm. If Minho noticed the embarrassing problem that had formed under the thin cloth of Jisung’s sleeping pants as he tried to feign sleep, he didn’t say a word about it. Perhaps Jisung can just blame that on higher testosterone levels in the mornings. Right now, he’s just going to fake sleep as much as he can.

They spend the next hours drifting in and out of sleep, still cuddling in that position. It wasn’t until Changbin rudely woke them up at half past 11AM that they forced themselves to finally get out of bed. That wasn’t the last of their sleepovers though. The next time it happened is at Minho’s apartment, after introducing Jisung to his cats. Soonie and Dori instantly liked him and had slept on his lap, while Doongie remained unimpressed. He didn’t have the heart to wake them up, so Jisung had no choice but to sleep over. And of course, they cuddled, because how else will they be able to sleep comfortably?

The third time it happened was on Jisung’s birthday. They had a party at their apartment and invited Minho to come over. The fourth time is on the eve of the third term’s enrollment. Jisung registered for his classes at his Minho’s place, taking advantage of his faster internet connection, which worked out for the best since they were able to arrange their schedules and make their break times overlap.

Their next sleepovers happened more frequently and for absolutely no reason, other than the fact that they just find each other’s warmth so comfortable and relaxing. Sometimes it’s fascinating how cuddling to sleep suddenly became normal for them. Minho would sometimes show up at Jisung’s apartment out of the blue, and vice versa. His roommates don’t even bat an eye anymore. Changbin takes every chance he gets to tease Jisung about it, but he would also sometimes tell the younger to be careful because he’s genuinely concerned for his feelings too.

“Guard your heart, yeah?” He tells Jisung one Saturday afternoon in December, just as the younger was getting ready to go to Minho’s place. The advice lingers in Jisung’s mind and he keeps mulling over it as he trekked in ankle-deep snow, on his way to Minho’s home.

He knows that whatever he and Minho have is vague, ambiguous, indefinite, and every synonym in between. And most of all, as much as he didn’t want to admit, _temporary_, especially with their lack of label. It’s also probably why he can’t muster the courage to confront Minho about it. He’s afraid everything will suddenly change and he’ll lose the person that’s most important to him right now.

There are only a few months left before the end of the school year. The past two terms have surprisingly gone well, mostly thanks to Minho’s help. Their sleepovers aren’t entirely spent on sleep, most of the time they’d also study together and help with each other’s homework or projects. But with the final exams on December just around the corner, Jisung can’t help but wonder if they’d even talk to each other once the school year is over. This “thing” between them surprising lasted from Spring to Autumn. And now it’s already Winter, with the first snow falling just a week ago. Until when will this thing go on?

Jisung can’t even call it a fling since they don’t really flirt with each other. Changbin has even mentioned that they’re so domestic they’re probably even more domestic than married couples. Jisung can’t call it a simple friendship either. Because he really doubts bros cuddle to sleep almost on a daily basis, with their legs entangled and fingers intertwined. Sometimes, Minho would kiss his forehead too, which makes him feel _loved, _but then he’d feel even more confused, nervous and agitated because _what is really going on between them?_

When Jisung reaches Minho’s apartment, his frown is still evident on his lips. These days, it’s getting harder and harder for him to hide his frustration, since he constantly feels a sharp pang of longing every time he’s with Minho.

He doesn’t need to knock on Minho’s door and wait for the other to let him in, because Jisung already knows Minho’s passcode. He lifts the cover, presses in the numbers and lets himself into the house when door unlocks. He’s welcomed by sweet chirrups from Dori while Soonie brushes along his legs. Doongie, being the aloof cat that she usually is, didn’t bother moving from her place on top of the kitchen counter.

“Minho-hyung?” He calls out when he didn’t see Minho after a quick glance around the room.

“I’m here, Jisungie.” Minho answers from the bedroom, his voice muffled by the walls between them and the closed door. Jisung twisted the knob to open the door, only to be denied entry from the other side as Minho tries his best to keep it closed. He had a surprise for Jisung and he didn’t want it to be spoiled. “Wait there, Jisungie, I’m almost done.”

After a few minutes, Minho slipped out of the room, taking care not to open the door too much to keep Jisung from seeing what’s inside. “I’ve got a surprise for you, but you have to wear this first.” He tells Jisung as he hands him a blindfold.

“What’s going on?” Jisung asks him apprehensively. Instead of answering, Minho just motions him to put on the mask. No longer wanting to prolong the agony, Jisung simply concedes. He feels Minho’s fingers encircle his elbows gently and nudges him forward. He follows the older, taking small steps as he was guided into the room. They stop at a spot where he assumes Minho placed the surprise for him.

Jisung is left a bit confused. He knows Minho’s room like the back of his hand now, and could probably get around it even with his eyes closed. From what he remembers, they’re just standing in front of a wall right now - the blank wall in between the two narrow floor-to-ceiling windows of Minho’s room.

“Okay, you can take off the blindfold now.” Minho says, his voice quivering slightly from an emotion Jisung can’t quite comprehend. If he didn’t know better, he’d think it was nervousness.

With his heart pounding for no reason, Jisung slowly removes blindfold, and opened one eye to take a peek at what Minho has for him. His mouth drops and his eyes widen at the sight before him; he can feel tears welling up real quick.

What used to be Minho’s blank wall is now transformed into a photo wall, with almost a hundred photos hung up onto jute strings using wooden clips. Twisted around the strings are fairy lights, flooding each and every picture with a warm color that bleeds and brightens up the rest of the room. The photos looked like they were framed by the windows, with a backdrop of falling snow around them. What made Jisung’s breath catch in his throat is the fact that the pictures were _their_ photos, the _two_ of them. Some were their selfies, while others were photos taken by their friends over the past five and a half months.

Some photos were of _him_ alone, taken at times when he wasn’t looking. Jisung took a step closer to the photos and studied them with an awed expression. There’s a photo of him when Dori was kissing his nose, one when he’s sipping on hot cocoa, one where he’s surrounded by orange leaves in the school park, one with his head on Minho’s lap as they were lounging in his couch, and so many more. A photo at the leftmost side of the wall catches his eye. It was isolated from the others, with the end of the fairy light made to form a heart around it. He slowly moves towards it but stops midway when he recognizes that it’s the polaroid photo from the café they ate at when they first met. Their first photo together.

Jisung turns to Minho, his eyes wide and questioning. “H-hyung? What’s this?”

“U-uhm… I printed all the photos we had. I wanted to be able to look at them every day.” Minho says with a sheepish smile. He lifts his visibly trembling hand to rub the back of his neck before asking nervously, “S-so, do you like it?”

“But… why? Why did you do this?” Was Jisung’s reply.

Minho just stares at him, the look in his eyes betraying his anxiety and uncertainty. He’s honestly prepared himself for this talk for the past few months, maybe even as early as the first time he met Jisung, but being faced with it now doesn’t make it any easier. He can’t breathe properly, much less talk, with how tense he was.

He isn’t good with words. He never was. That’s why he always tries to make up for it with his actions. No matter how many times he mustered up the courage to tell Jisung how he feels, just how much he likes him, he always ends up choking on his emotions, the words making him tongue-tied. He’d always end up just cuddling Jisung even more, holding him in his arms tighter as if he was afraid he’d disappear. He thought that would be enough to tell the younger how he truly feels.

But recently, he noticed how Jisung is always agitated around him, always heaving a deep sigh like he has all the problem in the world, always looking at him with sad eyes. It tears Minho’s heart apart, seeing him like that. At first he thought maybe the younger’s just stressed with school works. But that was until he overheard Changbin telling Jisung one day to not fall too hard when he’s not sure if Minho’s falling as hard as he is.

Then it all clicked into place. The reason behind Jisung’s sad smiles is him, and he could feel him drifting away with each passing day even though they still spend most of their time together. He could feel Jisung become more and more guarded with his emotions. He couldn’t blame Jisung, because he does deserve better than just being on the receiving end of all Minho’s affections with no strings attached. But just the thought of Jisung growing tired of him and finally deciding to drift away and move on is enough to break Minho’s heart a thousand times over.

He saw Jisung’s eyes become guarded once again, a sign that the walls he’s building around his heart is becoming higher and higher, making it impossible for Minho to break down if he doesn’t act soon. Minho feels his heart clench with a familiar feeling of pain as he imagines life without Jisung. _This is it. Now’s the time. Jisung deserves this. _He tells himself.

He gathers up all the courage he could and began to speak, his voice trembling at first, “Jisungie… hear me out first, okay?” At Jisung’s nod, he continued. “The first time we spoke to each other, when you asked for my help, I had no idea you’d have this big of an impact in my life.” He says with a fond smile as he reminisced that night, “I just thought, you needed help and I was there to help. No big deal. But then we met the next day, and I was surprised by how I loved being around you. I get to be myself because you easily accepted all my quirks. You make me feel at ease and you make me laugh freely.”

“Then I started craving your company. I wanted to spend more and more time with you. It’s like, every free time I have, I wanted to be with you. Every waking minute, I wanted to talk to you. At first, I reasoned it was probably because you became my best friend, my soulmate. You get me – we click. But then, I started feeling things.” Minho can feel his face become redder by the second. He didn’t want to glance at Jisung, afraid of what he’d see in the other’s face, so he continued on. “I started feeling warm every time you smile. I feel secured every time we cuddle. Everything just felt right when you’re around me. I didn’t know what to do. I was scared that I’d lose you if I tell you. I wanted to make it last, whatever it was between us. And if that meant hiding away my feelings, then so be it. It was so hard to hide, though, when all I could think of when I’m with you is how I’d love to kiss you before we sleep, to hold you closer in my arms, to be yours. I’m so sorry I became selfish and made it all confusing. I know I should’ve told you.” Minho takes a deep breath. He’s held on to his feeling for so long that he couldn’t keep the words from overflowing once he started speaking. “I don’t want to confuse you any longer and risk you drifting away from me. So, this is me, Jisungie… telling you that I like you. I like you so damn much that I think I’m past the point of _liking_. I think I’m in love with you, Jisung.”

He finally looks Jisung in the eye and waits for him to speak, the silence between them becoming suffocating.

Jisung just stares at Minho wide-eyed. He couldn’t believe what he just heard. Is this real life? Is this not one of his dreams? Is Minho _really_ confessing to him? He finally finds his voice again after what felt like a lifetime to Minho. “I can’t believe that even in this aspect, we’re still so similar.” Jisung says, his tone lilting with amusement.

“I- What?” Minho gives him an incredulous look.

“Hyung, it’s like you put everything that I’ve been feeling into words with what you just said.” Jisung’s surprised at how even his voice sounded despite the thundering of his heart right now. “

“Really? I mean, are you sure? ” Minho asks dumbly, still afraid that Jisung would change his mind and decide to avoid him anyway.

“Yes, hyung. I’m sure. I guess it was a blessing in disguise when I had problems registering and asked for your help.” Jisung chuckles and turns to Minho with a sincere smile. “I’m in love with you, Minho. I’ve been falling in love with you since that day you helped me get my classes, since you showed up at Yellow Park and told me how much you hated winter too, since the day we started eating almost every meal together, since the day you first cuddled me to sleep, and up until now. I keep falling in love with you every single moment we’re together.”

Minho beams at his words, his heart overflowing with happiness and love, the butterflies in his stomach fluttering full-time. He takes a step towards Jisung and pulls him closer by his waist, “You know, I’m starting not to hate winter as much.” He says, smiling down at the younger.

“Oh… really? Why?” Jisung breathes out as he watched Minho slowly lowering his head towards him. Jisung’s heart was thundering loud; he couldn’t hear anything else but his heartbeat and their breathing.

“Because it would always remind me of this exact moment.” Minho answers as he continues to bring their lips close. He watches as Jisung slowly flutters his eyes close, the sight bringing a loving smile to his lips. He brings one of his hands to Jisung’s cheek, cupping it gently as if it was the most fragile thing on earth. Their lips are now just a few centimeters apart, almost brushing against each other. He cherishes the beautiful and perfect sight that Jisung is before finally closing his eyes.

“Can I kiss you?” Minho whispers against Jisung’s lips.

“Always.” Jisung whispers back.

And then they kiss. Softly and tentatively at first, just like how the two of them started. And then deeply, as they poured all their love into it.

They kiss, in front of the photo wall that they’ll fill with more memories over time. They kiss, with the snow falling in the background and the Winter they used to hate now becoming something that they look forward to and celebrate with every passing year they spend together. They kiss, as they wait for the Spring, the season when their love bloomed and never faded. ❤

**Author's Note:**

> I do not know how this fic reached 16k words lol, but I hope you enjoyed reading it. i made a [twt](https://twitter.com/konstay0629) for my ao3 acct, let's talk! ♡


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